Posted
by
Zonk
on Friday August 25, 2006 @01:39PM
from the non-optimal dept.

Via Joystiq, a preview for Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam at IGN. Such a thing isn't really news, of course, but down at the bottom of the article there is some distressing information. According to IGN, third party online support for the Wii will have to wait until next year. Joystiq points out that this could mean launch titles like Monkey Ball, Blazing Angels, and Call of Duty 3 may be offline-only.

Nintendo's just in no rush to take a bite of the shit sandwich MySpace has been eating recently thanks to pedophiles and the like. If they end up catching flak for their online system, it might as well be through their own actions rather than those of a third party. And hell, they're probably just taking some time to define what guidelines they'll give third parties when designing the online component of their games.

Yea, it sucks. There should at least be LAN play on all of these games, but if Nintendo fe

LAN play may well be a possibility. Mario Kart: Double Dash was one of the few GameCube games that supported the Broadband adaptor, but not for net play - just for LANs. Since it's already been implemented by Nintendo before, it could well end up as an option in the Wii.

No, adults who buy a Nintendo console shouldn't be treated like kids. However, I'll admit that I can't think of a quick way to have a happy medium. Nonetheless, if the Wii has the same online "service" as the DS it won't help Nintendo shed their "kiddy" image.

easy. Have friend codes for kids and napkins with phone numbers written in lipstick for adults.

In all seriousness, I think it could work in such a way that people younger than 18 get friend codes and may only communicate with other friends. Anyone older than 18 may freely communicate with other adults. The only thing is you have to trick people into entering the right age data because if you ask for an age the pedos will just say they're 12. . . Possible solution would be to have to have a legal guardian c

I agree. I got tired of playing Diablo II when all the spam bots and gold miners and cursing teens started showing up.

I kept having to use my Mute capability way too often.

It's part of why I'm not that interested in WoW. But I'm looking forward to Animal Crossing and Spore on the Wii, and the ability to talk and share with real friends I know, not total strangers who cuss at the drop of a shovel.

IGN also reported that the release date and price would be revealed at the Leipzeig Games Convention. They also throw so much hype into untrue stories, I'd take this story with a grain of salt until it is confirmed by multiple sources.

People have already updated Wikipedia pages with this "fact", linking to the IGN page for reference. One section about expected launch titles [wikipedia.org] already states that "None of the launch titles will have online play."

Personally, I can't see this happening. With their experience with the DS, Nintendo should be prepared for online games, and with their experience with third party developers (Vicarious Visions, Taito), Nintendo should be prepared to get third-party games online. Can they get away with split-scr

You can't expect it to deliver something like Xbox Live at $200. It's a fun little console, designed for simple gameplay. It's not meant for those looking for all the perks of a more sophisticated system.

Wow and here i was thinking that Nintendo may just be making a console that the average joe can buy and not have to wait 2-3 years for it to drop to a price he can afford.

Nintendo fanboys can have it both ways: First it's "Wii is innovative, online is free, and cheap for developers!". After this much hype and justification of the Wii with online being a major bullet point, you can't turn around and claim that, because of the price point, lack of multiplayer (for 3rd parties) is somehow justifiable.

I don't see how it can't be justifiable. X-Box live didn't launch with the X-Box but Microsoft kept plugging it as a major selling point. The 360 is gung ho HD-DVD even though it's not being offered right now and it made a big deal out its backwards compatibility that is still a work in progress. And one day, you'll be able to turn your Colecovision into a computer with a keyboard module. Ok, maybe the last one was a stretch but they were telling us that at launch and it did help sell units. Not every

Hey, why the Hell did I get modded Flamebait?!?! I was making a serious point. A $200 console is a great bargain in a world of $400+ consoles. Why should people bitch when they don't get all the same perks (HDTV/Online) right away?

The DS Lite doesn't require anywhere NEAR the hardware and software overhead of the Wii. Nintendo is wisely putting off the online component to concentrate on gameplay. Obviously THEY don't think that's nonsense.

Im gonna get a Wii (or if they decide to change the name, whatever, i heard something about it before) because it looks to be fun, and also doesn't look to be the wallet buster that 360, or PS3 want to me

Actually, I'm defending Nintendo, you dip. And I am planning on buying a Wii. As to why everyone is so up-in-arms about Nintendo not having an online component at launch, I guess YOU'LL have to explain that.

And, as to my character, I'm not the one hiding behind "Anonymous Coward" postings here.

As to why everyone is so up-in-arms about Nintendo not having an online component at launch, I guess YOU'LL have to explain that.

It does not say there will be no online component at launch. The article says that 3rd party companies will not have access to the online code at launch. The first party games, arguably the most popular (Zelda, Metroid, Red Steel, etc...) will all have the possibility of being online on launch day.

Plus it says no 3rd party online access until next year. The Wii is expected t

I won't be able to get it before 2007 anyway. Demand will be huge and even people who lives in USA and preorder it may not get it before Christmas (Remember Xbox 360, that cost twice as much).On the other hand, Wiimote's innovative gameplay and the training complex games will demand may be enough for you to ignore online playing, at least for a few months.

I wouldn't go making assumptions until we know the release date, and see how well Nintendo can perform. With the low (relative) cost of the Wii, Nintendo can make many more of them - and so should be able to get many more Wii's than PS3s into stores. I wouldn't be surprised if the Wii is only the only "next-gen" console that consumers can just walk in and buy off the shelf come mid-December.

I think people overestimate how many people take advantage of online services to begin with. How many of the million Xbox live users are only there because they got it for free and are no longer active once they have to pay? And, having to wait until next year? That's what, four months away at this point with the console's release date not even announced yet? So you might have to wait 2 whole months for third party online games and that's supposed to be a deal breaker? No, a $600 price tag on a console not in production with only marginally better graphics for the next year or two is a deal breaker, this is not.

Really? Around E3 Xbox Live announced they had surpassed 24 million downloads. This came several months after someone one the iTunes 1 billionth download content. 24 million is certainly a lot, but it is still 1/40 of iTunes.

First of all, regarding online functionality, it's hard for me to go back to other consoles, which don't have the same level of features as Xbox Live. If it weren't for the free demos, I never would have realized how kick ass Dead Rising is. I'm also a big fan of the Xbox Live Arcade games and the whole achievement system. Granted, a lot of these ideas come from the PC-side of things, but to finally have them in the console space is very exciting.That said, this announcement only said that 3rd party online

This generations success will be built upon a good online foundation. Just look at the Xbox 360, its online has been successful beyond imagination. This is definitely not positive news for Nintendo any way you try to put it.

Wow. Something that could be perceived to be negative about the Wii is reported and the highly moderated posts are the ones who rush to defend their actions. Not a surprise but it still bugs the living heck out of me. What this is saying is that third party launch titles will not be online. Yeah, games in the future will have it...but still it sucks that the Wii will be limited for those initial games.

Listen, companies you love can do bad things. Companies you hate can do good things. If what IGN is reporting is true (big if), then this is a dumb move by Nintendo. The only good thing you can say about it is that at least it isn't something they plan to be permanent.

As far as the whole "myspace" comment goes...saying that Nintendo is doing this to avoid pedophiles...give me a break. If there is a post in here where the government is trying to protect children from adult content, everyone runs around in circles screaming how terrible that is and how parents should be responsible (and I agree). But as soon as Nintendo does it, it is a good thing? I don't think so. I sincerely hope they don't force a similar "friend code" system on the Wii. It just makes it a pain in the butt to maintain friends and set up games.

PErspective does not equal defense. I'm not saying that Nintendo is doing the right, I'm saying that the negatives of no 3rd party support till early next year is are overblown. My basic point is that the Online gaming crowd is overrepresented online: as shocking as that may be. Xbox Live is great and doing well... but the Xbox 360 has yet to sell up to the levels it was projected to. Sony went from the wonderkid of NexGens in a heart beat over price. Nintendo has not only stated that they are targetti

If there is a post in here where the government is trying to protect children from adult content, everyone runs around in circles screaming how terrible that is and how parents should be responsible (and I agree). But as soon as Nintendo does it, it is a good thing? I don't think so.

I hadn't heard anything about Metroid Prime 3 slipping from the launch lineup. It was confirmed as one a few weeks ago I thought. I did some searching and found a rumor about it slipping in a forum, but nothing concrete. Anyone know more?

Why is it distressing? The Gamecube managed quite well without any online to speak of, and it didn't have the luxery of Sony constantly shooting itself in the foot.

Well, third place in a race of three, not very exciting. The reason why no Third Party online is important, is because it shows that Nintendo still has a problem with Third Party developers and in the end that is the only thing that will decide if a console is successfull or not. Nintendo can do the greatest Marios and Zeldas of all times, but u

Nintendo's primary hits are always first party, especially at launch... especially at THIS launch. Zelda, Metroid, Red Steel, Wii Sports, Excite Truck, all first party. The first party list makes up a good 98% of the games sold at or around launch. Some of these games (Zelda), won't offer online play, because they're not the kind of game that would in the first place. 2% of sold titles not offering online play at launch is nothing to get worked u

# PS2 had, what, 4 online games in its entire lifespan... only one of those (FF11) being anything close to a hit..

Only 4 titles? Ps2 online is bigger than you think. SOCOM 1, 2, or 3 ring any bells? That series is huge. Other titles off the top of my head- Everquest Online Adventures, Monster Hunter, Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, Frequency, Amplitude, Splinter Cell 2 and 3, Killzone, Madden NFL 2003,2004,2005,2006 (This is a BIG deal, as the Ps2 was the only way to get online with madden for several ye

You make some good points, but this is wrong. Metroid is still in the launch day lineup, unless something's changed in the last 24 hours since I last checked.

When I said 2% of all games sold... I meant that, not 2% of all titles. Obviously, more than 2/3rds of the games released at launch are 3rd party. But a huge majority of the sales will be for Zelda, Metroid, Wii Sports, and Mario Galaxy (I know, not a launch DAY title, but still within the lau

It took Xbox Live about a year before it even showed up on the Xbox and with the exception of the original Halo, that wasn't too much of a loss for the original Xbox. Or more recently, take a look at the DS taking a year before Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection came into play. Not many titles were really lost in the long-term.

As long as Nintendo takes notes from Microsoft and Sony when launching their online service, the extra time spent should be a good sign. It's not like there isn't room for delays in the Wii'

My feelings are mixed on this. I am a very hardcore gamer, playing on all consoles and PC. I have played various MMO's as well, and have generally found that online play doesn't really add that much to the experience for me.

This certainly isn't a dealbreaker on the Wii for me. Honestly, the only game I care that has online is Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I don't really need online play for anything else. And it's not like this will affect demo downloads or the virtual console, so no worries there.

Using friend codes isn't a silly choice. It's something Nintendo did to protect younger players. It's also something I like. I use online play as a kind of "hardest" setting for games after I've beaten them offline. I don't care who I'm playing against.

Obviously, there's lots of room for improvement for people who want different things from online games, but that doesn't make Nintendo's decision "silly". They're simply not aiming their online service at hardcore gamers, and that works for me.

It is stilly because it cripples the online experience a lot without a good reason. Nothing wrong with Nintendo doing some child-protection, but then please do so without pissing of all the older gamers around. Online play on DS for me is pretty uninteresting, because its really no different then playing against some intelligent bots, better then nothing, but lightyears behind of what true online gaming is all about.

It is stilly because it cripples the online experience a lot without a good reason.

There is a good reason. Apple doesn't want children to be contacted by strangers online.

Nothing wrong with Nintendo doing some child-protection, but then please do so without pissing of all the older gamers around.

As I already said, they don't piss of all the older gamers. I'm definitely an older gamer, and I like friend codes and anonymous online gaming because I don't want to be harassed by 15-years-olds who have no

There is a good reason. Apple doesn't want children to be contacted by strangers online.

For protection a small portion of the user based, crippling online for *everyone*, is not a good reason, its simply lazyness to implement proper messures.

As I already said, they don't piss of all the older gamers. I'm definitely an older gamer, and I like friend codes and anonymous online gaming because I don't want to be harassed by 15-years-olds who have nothing better to do than scream swear words and tell me how

That's where you're wrong. They're not protecting "a small portion of the user base", they're protecting themselves. And unless you're Nintendo, you simply do not know how small (or, most likely, big) the amount of children using their service is.

You know, if you don't want to chat, simply don't chat, but don't force everybody else to stop chatting just because you don't like it.

There's no connection between friend codes and chatting. As I've said, Ani

The first title that was announced to have online content for the wii was Super Smash Bros Brawl [smashbros.com].
From the page:

There was a reason Smash Bros. was announced at the meeting.
That was because when it was asked what product Nintendo would want to use to help it unveil its Wi-Fi Network, the first title on the list in both America and Japan was Smash Bros. So it was first decided to talk about Smash Bros. as an example of a Wi-Fi title, resulting in the game being announced before the development struc